Savings Experiment: Snow Removal
Why Your 2012 Tax Bill May Jump By $8,000
Want that brand-new Stephen King or Anita Shreve novel beamed to your Amazon (AMZN) Kindle? Well, you may be waiting a few months. In a preemptive strike against e-reader technology, publishers Simon & Schuster - part of CBS Corp. (CBS) and Hachette plan to delay the electronic-book editions of about 35 popular titles by four months. The supposed strategy is that desperate readers will pay the full retail price for these volumes, rather than the discounted $9.95 for the electronic version.
E-readers are a hot gift item this holiday season, and products like the Kindle and the soon-to-be-released Nook from Barnes & Noble (BKS) don't seem to be a flash in the pan. E-book retail sales are expected to hit $201 million in 2010, up from $150 million this year. While this is still a fraction of actual, tangible book sales, the growth rate cannot be ignored.
Simon & Schuster's CEO, Carolyn Reidy, told The Wall Street Journal, "The right place for the e-book is after the hardcover but before the paperback." This is analogous to the movie business, where the pay-per-view movie comes after the theatrical release but before it is available on DVD.
This brings to mind the music business, which saw the Internet craze render it anemic at best. What if, in the infancy of the iPod, record companies delayed the production of MP3s, forcing people to buy the actual CD if they wanted a new release? Might it have helped? Or would there just be more pirates in our midst? Do you think the publishers are acting fairly? Post your opinions in the comments.
Beth works for The Options News Network (www.ONN.tv), which provides daily stock and options commentary. The above comments are not intended as trading advice.
Goldman Earnings Sink After Buffett Dividend
Johnson & Johnson's Income Falls 23%
Burberry Shares Leap on Sales Update
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-09-2009 @ 4:49PM
Elaine said...
There might come a time when companies like Amazon bypass the publishing industry and work directly with authors to release titles directly to e-book format. Considering what the publishing companies are pulling right now, that might be a good thing. Either way, it looks like I won’t be buying any new releases anytime soon, because there is no way I will reward the publishing companies actions by purchasing their hardcovers.